Open fireplace



Dec, 16, 1924. 1,519,218

G. RICHEY OPEN FIREPLACE Filed Sept. 28, 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet l 5. 7 M? is; r W I TFI L 3 SJ 1111c mfoz 1 WM WM affoznu s G. A. RICHEY OPEN FIREPLACE Filed Sept. 28, 1923 2 sheets-sheet 2 gluucnfoz GAJUCHEY.

Patented Dec. 16, 1924.

UNITED STATES GEORGE A. RICHEY, F URBANA, OHIO.

OPEN FIREPLACE.

Application filed September 28, 192-3.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, Gnonon A. Rrorirr, a citizen of the United States, residing at Urbana. in the county of Champagne and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in an Open Fireplace. of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to an improvement in open fire-places, and my general object is to provide a simple and e'll'ective device adapted to be installed in either new or old lire places for the prevention of the escape of soot into the room and which will permit accumulating soot to be gathered and stored for convenient removal and which will also permit regulation'of the up draft and pro vent back drafts. Thus in the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1 is a horizontal section of a lire place embodying my improved device, this view being taken in line 1--l of Fig. 3, and F 2 is a similar section in a lower plane on line 22 of Fig. 3. Fig. 3 a front elevation of the fire place and Fig. 4 is a vertical section centrally through the fire place. Fig. 5 is a vertical section of the fire place on line 5-5 of Fig. 4 looking toward the rear. Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the throat and damper member. Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the removable rear wall which is used with the throat member in forming a receiving compartment Within the fire place. Fig. 8 is a vertical section corresponding to Fig. 4 of a slightly modified form of my invention.

One of the objectionable features of an open the place is the escape or dropping of soot from the flue or chimney into the room, especially When the fire place is not in use or when down drafts occur.

The present invention is designed to prevent the escape of soot by a specially constructed throat member 2 and a false rear wall 3, together with a pair of associated dampers 4 and 5 pivotally hinged or mounted within or upon the discharge pipe or elbow 6 connected with the converging upper end 7 of throat member 2.

The device is particularly applicable to the remodeling of old fire places although obviously it may be also installed within a new fire place. Thus it is customary in building fire places to provide a tapering smoke chamber 8 above the open fire place 9. In installing my device I project the Serial No. 665,324.

converging portion 7 of throat member 2 into smoke chamber 8 and support the lateral base flanges 9 of member 2 upon the brick walls 10 at opposite sides of the lire place. A portion of the lateral flange 11 at the rear of throat member 2 is bent upwardly and downwardly to form a longitudinal groove 12 adapted to receive and hook over the upper straight edge l l of a metal plate which forms false rear wall 3 of the fire place. This plate or wall 3 is spaced apart a few inches from the main rear "all 15, the plate having for this purpose angnlarly bent flanges 16 extending its full height at its opposite vertical edges. The firebrick lining 17 of the fire place extends to and encloses the. laterallyextending base flanges 16 of plate 3 and this brick lining 17 is also built up across the front of plate 3 if the fire place is to be used for hard fuel. However, if a gas burner is installed instead, the lining of brick in front of plate 3 may be omitted and the plate itself formed or shaped in any suitable way to permit the use or installation of a gas burner within the fire place. A vertically inclined strip 18 may also be aflixed Within the vertical space at the rear of plate 3 to form a liaring compartment adapted to collect sootdropping from the smoke chamber 8 and flue 19 above, and an opening or door 20 may be provided in plate 3 opposite the converging end of the soot compartment to permit the removal of the soot from the compartment.

The soot from the chimney or line 19 is prevented from passing into and out of throat member 2 by reason of the construction of this member and the Working arrangement of the two dampers 4: and 5 respectively. Thus I prefer to use a relatively small pipe or elbow 6 of approximately the same cross-section as line 19 and to turn this elbow horizontally toward the rear within smoke chamber 8 so as to battle a down draft, and damper 4 is pivoted within the vertical straight portion of the pipe or elbow to per mi't convenient regulation of the tip-draft, although when completely shut it also serves to prevent a. back-draft. The rear discharge end of the elbow is adapted to be opened or closed by hinged damper 5 and when this damper is closed the soot is absolutely prevented from entering the elbow. Damper 5 is also hinged or supported to turn upon a 3 vertically-inclined axis so that it may open by gravity and also so that it will fold and lip in a vertically-inclined plane beneath the p ejecting top of the horizontal part of the elbow and not collect soot upon its face or edges when closed. Rods 21 and 22 extend through the front wall of the fire place and connect with the respective dampers & and 5 to permit them to be opened or closed as conditions may require, and a tight sliding or turning fit for the rods within the walls or where, they pass through pipe or elbow 6 suflices to hold the dampers in any adjusted or closed position. Innumerable ways may be used to lock damper in open or closed position but frictionally engagement of rod 22, as stated, will hold the damper in any given or set position, especially if the damper is made of relatively thin and light sheet metal.

In Fig. 8 I show a vertical outlet pipe 23 for throat member 2, and a conical deflecting cap or cover 24: supported in a tilting position at the upper end of this pipe. The dotted lines show cap 24 raised to its full extent to permit a free discharge upwardly from the fire place, and the full lines show the cap partly lowered to serve as a b aille to down-drafts. When cap 24 is fully lowered pipe 23 is closed and the conical form of the cap deflects the soot and prevents it from lodging within or dropping into the throat member'of fire place.

What I regard as my invention or discovery and desire to claim, is: v I

1. A fire place or hearth having a smoke chamber, a throat member mounted within;

3. A fire place or hearth having a smoke flue, a closure plate at the entrance of said flue having a converging top terminating in a lateral discharge pipe, a regulating damper within said pipe, and a soot damper hinged at the outlet end of said pipe.

4. A fire place or hearth'having a smoke chamber, a throat member within said chamber, a damper within said throat member, a vertical division wall extending downwardly fromthe rear edge of said throat member and spaced apart from the main rear wall of the fire place, and an inclined strip forming a converging soot collecting compartment behind said wall.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature hereto.

GEORGE A. RICI-IEY. 

